Bottle-cap feeder.



B. E. J. EILS @n L. STRE'BEL.

BOTTLE GAP FEEDER.

APPLIUATION FILED 1350.21, 190s.

ruin

BETTE E. J. '.EILS AND lLUS STB-EBEL, OF YRK, N. Y., ASSIGNORS TO GLOBE MACHINE da STOPPER COMPANY, OF NEW YBH, l\l. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW BOTTLEeCA? FEEDER.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. El, ltllllt.

,application filed December 21, i909. Eel-i511 No. S34-,3535.

To all 'wl/om il 'may concern: y

Be it known that We, Berre ld. el. EILS, a citizen of the United letatcs7 and Louis SfrannuL, a citizen of Switzerland, both residents of New York, in the county of New York and State of Neiv York;7 have invented a certain new and useful Bottle-Cap Feeder,

4of which the following is e speciiication.

Our feeder of hanged. bottle-caps is nevi7 as a whole, and also as regards most of its essential component parte which We prefer to use in conjunction but some of which may be embodied in. other styles of bottle-cap feeders.

The feeder illustrated consists of a. vertically revolving drinn, the reservoir part of which is preferably though not necessarily supplied with bottle-caps from a suitable stationary hopper., and is constructed with an inwardly projecting and centrally ai ranged circular pocket, which flares outwardly into a vertical wall and forms one side of an annular out-feed throat. The other side of this throat consists of part of thc surface `of the drurns face plate which is so shaped and set that the annular inlet or inouth of the annular throat is formed by two plain concentric surfaces accurately spaced vto permit. the passage through such inouth of flanged bottlocaps 'facing in one direction hut prevent the passage of such caps facing` in t-he reverse direction. rl`he annular throat is encircled hy a stationary ring in which the udrum revolves and which has an outlet issuing into the service chute. The pocket has a side inlet through which the caps are automatically shoveled into it from the reservoir part of the drum.

On the annexed drawing .Figure l illus trates' a front elevation of the feeder; Fig. 2 a side elevation thereof; Fig. il a veical axial section thereof on line www on lfig. '1; Fig. d: a vertical cross Section thereof on line y-g/ of Fig. 2; lig. 5 a vertical cross sco tion of a part of the annular outsfeed throat thereof with tivo oppositely faced flanged bottle-caps; and Fig. (l an interior view of a part of the feederlooking; into the mouth of the annular out-feed throat with t-Wo op positely faced flanged hottie-caps. Figs. o'

and 6 are fullsize illustrations of the annu lar out-feed throat as We have constructed and used it in practical work; While the other figures illustrate the feeder on a smaller scale.

The saine reference numeral is used on all the figures to designate any one party of the feeder.

1 designates the reservoir of the vertically revolvingr drinn. havingt;v a hack plate L), and constructed with an inuai'ilh7 projecting aud outwardly flaring circular pocket l, into `which the caps are fed from the reservoir through a side inlet. l hy means of radial hlade 5 fixed in the reservoir and extending through down one side of said inlet into the pocket; the blade acting as a shovel in the rot-ation of the drum. The outwardly ilariug cud of the pocket merges into the vertical face of the reservoir, and is confronted hy the faire plate (l of the revolving drum so as to forni an annular opening or outfced throat. curved toward it;` inner end because the interim side of the face plato overhangrs the curve of the pocket, as niest clcarlj/f shown in Fig. It llanujed cap. such as shown for instancej resting` with its llanirc on the concave sido of a curve sits up higher than one r ing thercol with its top, as illustrated iu Figs. 5 and (3; the dillercuii'e being; really more marked because the tops oi' the caps lu conunou use are more or less crowned. llve taltc advantatrc of this fact, and so forni and adjust the ill-.ice plate with reference to the flaring mouth of the pocket that the annular mouth of the annular .outfeed throat is wide enough to permitthe passage tlirough such mouth of caps coming down the pocket topA down, yet so narro as lo prevent the passage of caps coming' down the puclict flange dou'n as shown clearly in Vig. :.i. 1e rxadily iuulei'stood that lt will l for Vpractical uorl the diameter of Vthe annular ineuth of the throat should not he too la rge. ln the li'eci'lers which we have in practical use with perfect results this dialneter is about live inches. Then the outer portion ofthe out-feed throat is lnade vertical, as shown, the Aflanged caps, which enter the throat in an oblique direction, have to swing sufficiently to assume a vertical position. In such ease, therefore, the face plate chute 15.

is recessed at 7 to permit of such swinging of the caps as they pass.

The drum is turned by a central shaft 8, the back plate of pocket 3 being rigidly secured to a collar 9 on such shaft. The face plate t3' is mounted on one end of this shaft and so firmly pressed against another collar l0 thereon bya nut 11 that it also must turn with the shaft. .The proper adjustment of the face plate 6 may be obtained by one or t more thin shims placed between it and the collar l0 of the shaft.

If the reservoir of the drum is supplied with caps from a stationary hopper 1Q. as shown, the back plate 2 of the reservoir has a central opening fitting the neel: of the hopper, and shaft 8 extends through a huh on the latter to 'receive an exterior gear for turning it. The. central in-feed thus providcdfor insures an :unfailing vand unobstructed flow ofcaps from vthe hopper into the reservoir of the drum,.and in such a way that the caps can receive no damage in their passage from the one into the other. The hopper has a base with a horizontal flange 13 projecting under the drum to lsupport the stationary ring 14 which encircles the annular out-feed throat. This ring has a suitable outletopening for the passage of caps from said throat down the service The face plate 6 has numerous holes for observation', the inner edges thereof aiding in a measure in the movement and tumbling of the caps.

The shovelingblade isso positioned that the i'nlet of the ocket is in front of it. So that Af it be desired to revolve the feeder in the direction reverse to that indicated by the arrows on Figs. l and 4, the shoveling blade must'be positioned on the other side of the inlet. The size of this inlet is such as to freely admit a cap in whatever position presented, yet prevent too many to enter at a time in order that the pocket may not' be overfilled and the free movement of the Caps therein interfered with. 7e are using, with perfect success, an inlet full 11',V inches long and 3 inches wide. in. a pocket t inches in diameter at thateplaee; the feeder having a great out-feed capacity when revolved at full speed.

'lhe operation of this bottle-cap feeder will be readily understood from the foregoing description. One important and distinctive feature thereof not referred to so far should, however, be mentioned. 'l`he caps pass through this feeder without meeting or being caught in any obstruction that can mar or distort them. 'lhis is especially important as regards the out-feed throat. So far as we know in all previous bottle-cap feeders there are obstructions in the outfecd throat, fixed, or movable, or both kinds.

acting as selecting devices, which are liable to and frequently do not only distor.'l caps but cause jamming of the mass. so that the feeder must then be opened and cleaned out. lt will be readily observed that our cap feeder is not liableto these objections because the selection of the caps is effected by the wholly unobstructed annular mouth of structed annular mouth thereof formedv two plain concentrlc surfaces so separated' thatby reason of the greater projection| of a fianged cap from the concave circular v,s'urface of such mouth when its fiange faces such surface such cap cannot pass through such mouth; whereas a flanged cap the top of which faces such surface, and therefore projects less therefrom, may pass through such mouth.

'We claim as our invention.

l.. A feeder for fianged bottle caps, havinO an annular out-feed throat, the mouth of which is formed of two plain concentric opposed surfaces vaffording a free passage for correctly faced caps, and so spaced apart that they engage and prevent the passage of reversely faced caps, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

2. A feeder for flanged bottle caps, revolving in a. vertical plane and having an annular out-feed throat, the mouth of which is formed of two plain concentric opposed surfaces affording a free passage for correctly faced caps, and so spaced apart that they engage and prevent the passage of reversely faced caps, substantially and for the purpose set forth.

3. A bottle-cap feeder embodying in its construction a reservoir containing a fixed shoveling blade, and a centrally arranged Vcircular pocketprojecting into said reservoir and having a side inlet in front of Said shoveling blade, all these parts being connected and revolving together in a vertical plane when in operation, substantially as hereinbefore setI forth.

4. For feeding flanged bottle-caps into a service chute faced all in one direction, a feeder composed hf a drum constituting a reservoir and containing a fixed shovcling blade, a cap selecting annular out-feed throat, and a centrally arranged pocket projeeting into said reservoir from said throat :awww m @n having' a side ine, all Said par@ be l Naw ing; comected and. Temvng togeth in ab A vertical plana Whn in operatiml', in cmnbnation with stationary ring; encrcng th@ out-feed throat and having am @11th-:t for th@ passage of selected, caps from tha throat im@ 'the service chute.

Signed at New York in the colmiy 01E day of: Dees-mbar A. T309.

BETTE El E. LUUS BTREBEL.

Wtxwsses J. PLMHHTZEN, IDA Grmmsmm.

"Koirk am@ State of New York this 17th 

